Gone
by s3sshybabygirl14
Summary: While Edward is away tracking down Victoria, something happens to Bella. Set during New Moon. Adopted for Twilighter27.
1. Chapter 1

Preface:

I couldn't stop the pain that shot through me like bullets in my empty, lifeless veins. I couldn't believe I had let this happen. The one person whom I cared for more than life itself, was gone. I tried, and failed, to hold in my tearless sobs. I couldn't live without her. I wouldn't even try.

Chapter 1: EPOV

I longed to see Bella with every fiber of my being, but my mind kept reminding me why I was away in the first place: for her. Had it been any other reason, I never would have left at all. The words I had told her were not at all true, and I hated lying to her, but I did it for her safety. The only thing I could do for Bella now was track Victoria down, and rid of her myself. It was all I could do to distract myself. But, with all the room in my head to think, I worried about what distraction I could come up with to keep me away from the love of my existence after that task had been completed.

Despite what I would have liked to believe, I was a horrible tracker. I could never stay on Victoria's trail for more than a couple of days before I set off on another wild goose chase. What made matters worse was Victoria had full knowledge of my following her, so she went out of her way to make it that much more difficult to follow her trail. She'd loop around whole cities, only to head in the same direction as before. I couldn't help but think how much Alice would help. Victoria might have even been taken care of already if Alice was here.

But I couldn't talk to Alice. I hadn't talked to any of my family since they'd moved from Forks. I'd vanished too, needing some space. They'd known about my leaving Bella – that was one of the main reasons they moved. If they stayed once I'd taken off, people would start to worry, not to mention how upset Bella would be having a constant reminder of me – my family. I knew she still loved me, almost as much as I loved her. I constantly worried how she was doing, and sometimes had half a mind to call Alice and ask, or stop by one night to watch her sleep just once more. But I knew I couldn't. If I ever saw her again, I'd never, _ever_, be able to leave her, I knew that.

So I did my best to distract myself. Every time I thought of her, it was like a thousand knifes to my dead, broken heart. I never thought about her if I could avoid it, knowing the pain it would bring me. I could only hope she didn't feel anything for my absence** . . .**

I sighed, snapping myself out of my wandering thoughts. _Focus,_ I told myself. _Concentrate on finding Victoria._ I almost growled at the thought of her.

I continued running through the forest until Victoria's scent went in two different directions. I froze at the fork in her trail, undecided on which to follow. Finally, I chose the path that smelled fresher, and began running again. After about an hour, I suddenly found that her scent was completely gone. Alarmed, I tried to head back to her trail, but found nothing. It was as if someone had entirely erased her scent. I searched for the trail for hours. Finally, I just gave up searching.

"Great," I muttered, running my hand though my hair in frustration. "Just _great."_

Not only had I lost her scent, but I had absolutely no clue of where I was. I had been so wrapped up in following Victoria's scent, and in my own hopeless thoughts, that I had payed no attention to where I was going.

I was about to begin searching for a nearby city or landmark of some sort when my cell phone rang. This alarmed me; I'd specifically told Alice not to call me unless Bella was in danger, and there was no one else that would have any reason to call me. I quickly removed my cell phone from my pocket, and brought it up to my ear.

"Hello?"

"Edward!" Alice's voice hinted that there was something horribly wrong. "Look, I–I know I wasn't supposed to call you but –"

"What happened?" I questioned sternly, very worried about Bella's safety. If she was hurt...

"It's Bella, she's...she's going to..."

"Going to _what_?" I asked angrily. "Just spit it out, Alice."

"Suicide, Edward." her voice was shaky. "She's going to commit suicide."

I froze. I was unable to move anything, nor could I think straight. Suddenly, my trance was shattered.

"Edward? Are you still there?" Alice asked, obviously worried.

"When?"

"I got the vision this morning. I called earlier, but I guess you couldn't get a signal."

"So we still have some time?"

"_Well_...I...I'm really not sure. My visions of her have been..._different_ than usual."

"Different _how?_"

"She just..._disappears_. She'll be doing some everyday activity – like doing homework or eating or talking to someone when she just vanishes. She's making choices to do something that I can't see, Edward. I've been getting worried. And then, suddenly, I see her _jumping off a cliff!_ I mean, she's been miserable, but _suicide?_"

Her words echoed in my mind as I let them sink in. She just _disappears._ She's been_ miserable._ She _jumped off a cliff._ I had tried to tell myself that she'd be better off without me ever since I decided to leave. I tried to tell myself she'd get over me and be _happy._ I'd been horribly wrong all along.

"Alice? Go check on her – make sure she's okay. I'm on my way."  
"Already heading to Forks. I don't need you to help me decide to stop my friend from committing suicide." she joked.

"This isn't funny, Alice." I snapped, my forefinger and thumb already pinching the bridge of my nose.

"Just trying to lighten the mood, Edward. I'll talk to you when you get there." She hung up, and I snapped my phone shut as well, placing it back in my pocket.

I didn't have time to search for my Volvo, or to look for a nearby car to 'borrow', so I just ran. I headed in the general direction of Forks, whizzing through the forests and across roads when I came to them. I avoided being out of the cover of the forest as much as I could in my haste, but I wanted to get there, and if that meant a few humans saw a blur fly in front of their car, so be it.

I ran for what seemed like days, trying to block all thoughts from my head as I went. I knew that if I started thinking, my mind would wander. And it would always seem to come back to Bella, no matter what I thought about.

Finally, I passed the 'Welcome to Forks' sign, and I began running faster.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2: BPOV

I felt dead. Empty. _He_ had left me. My world: _gone_. A few months had passed, as far as I could tell, and the pain was still eating away at me. Slowly. Painfully. Thinking about _him _left me clutching my stomach in pain, trying desperately to hold myself together. He had taken half of me with him, leaving a hole in my chest to tear me apart. Ripping. Shredding. I couldn't think, couldn't function without him. My life. My love. My everything.

I tried to carry on with my life as normal as Charlie encouraged me to do. It was hard. I couldn't concentrate, couldn't think without my mind leading back to...

I had become closer with Jacob Black, though I didn't like him the way he liked me. He was just a friend to me, like a brother, in ways. But nothing more. I couldn't love him. Not that way. My love, my heart, had already been taken. Broken. Ripped to shreds and throw away.

I had found but one way to be reminded of _him_ without the pain in my chest: being in danger. If I was doing something stupid or reckless, I heard his velvety soft voice in my head. Usually the voice was angry at me for putting myself in harms way, as he would have been. But the anger only made the voice that much more addicting.

Jacob had helped me by fixing a couple of motorcycles, my first successful attempt to trigger the angel's voice. But the last time I rode my bike, the voice did not ring in my head, so I knew I needed a different trigger. I knew what that would be: cliff diving.

I was on my way to La Push now. I needed to hear his voice. Now. I wasn't going to wait until later to go cliff diving with Jacob.

Finally, I arrived at my destination, the peak of the cliff. I pulled off to the side and parked my old truck. I got out and walked up to the very edge of the drop-off, looking down to the dark water once I got close. Suddenly, I heard something rustling in the brush, causing my head to snap towards the noise. After some more noise, I began heading towards it.

"Hello?" I called.

There was more rustling before I heard what sounded like someone tripping. After a few seconds, a very drunk Jacob stumbled out of the forest with a beer in hand.

"Jacob?"

**(A/N: **_**Pretend**_** that it sounds like he's drunk...please?? Sorry, I'm no good at drunk speak :S) **"Hey baby!" His speech was slurred. "Wanna have some fun?" He hiccuped, causing his beer to slosh everywhere.

"You're drunk, Jacob."

He hiccuped again. "So?"

"What are you doing up here?" I asked, trying to change the subject.

"Waiting for you." He replied, grinning and sounding very stalker-ish.

"W-waiting for me? Why?"

He smiled wider, before he began stalking towards me. I took a couple steps back, but that only made him come after me faster. Finally, I just turned and ran, but I knew he could easily catch me.

Sure enough, he soon had me cornered at the edge of the cliff. And although I wanted to go cliff diving, I didn't want to fall off backwards, or jump off unprepared and injure myself. But I also knew I wouldn't get far anyways; Jake could swim ten times as fast as me.

My breathing was ragged from running, and I was about ready to collapse, so I had no energy to fight him. I guess he'd planned this all out, because he handed me a pen and some paper and told me to write. I did as he said, but tears streaked down my face from both defeat and fear of what was to come.

Once I'd finished writing, I handed him the paper and pen. He placed the note where it was easy to see – hanging from a branch in a nearby tree. Then he began walking towards me, and soon ever


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3: EPOV

Soon after I passed the city's boarders, though it seemed like an eternity too long, I arrived at Bella's house. I saw only Carlisle's car in the driveway, and I began to worry even more. I raced up the driveway and burst through the front door.

"Alice!" I called. She was blocking me out of her thoughts. Her mind was concerned on tracing the pattern of a cupboard, so I knew she was in the kitchen. "Where is she?! Is she okay?! Please tell me she's okay!"

I was already in the kitchen, shooting questions at her before she'd even looked up. Her face showed that she was trying to figure something out, but she was still blocking me out. "Alice!" She slowly looked up from the table. "She's okay, isn't she?!"

Her eyes flew back to the table, a blank look on her face, and her thoughts still elsewhere. I noticed that what she'd been looking at had been a note. I rushed to Alice's side, reading the note in front of her.

"_Dear Charlie,_

_When you find this, it will already be too late. I'm sorry it came to this, but I can't go on without Edward any longer. If you ever see him again, tell him I still love him, but don't hate him for my decision._

_Tell Renee I love you and goodbye. I love you, Dad. I'm sorry._

_Your daughter,_

_Bella"_

The note was written in Bella's unmistakable handwriting, but it looked shakier than usual. There were a couple tear stains on the page, and they smelled of Bella. But I didn't care. I sunk to the ground, unable to keep my legs under me. I felt like I had no control over my body. I couldn't believe she was gone. And how? She'd taken her own life. _Suicide_. _My_ Bella had committed _suicide_. Not only that, but it was because of _me_.

I began to sob dryly. I didn't make it in time. She'd died thinking I hated her. These thoughts, and many like them, circled around my head like vultures, slowly picking away at my sanity.

I don't know how long I sat there on the floor, but soon I heard Charlie's thoughts approaching. I knew I had to leave before he got here, but I couldn't move. I heard Alice's voice, but couldn't make out what she was saying. Finally she sighed, and picked me up, dragging me out of the house over her shoulder.

I barely realized what was happening after that until Alice dropped my on the black couch in my room. She shook me, trying to pull me back into reality, but I didn't want to leave the numb state I was in.

"Edward? Edwa . . . . Listen to me!" Her voice was coming into and going out of focus. It almost hurt to try to listen. "Edward! . . . to me! I don't think . . . . Did you hear me?"

I focused all my willpower on making my eyes look at her. She smiled, relieved that I wasn't totally lost – yet. "Can you hear me Edward?" I was focusing only on her voice, and it was almost entirely focused, but not completely. I half-nodded. She sighed in relief. "Did you hear what I said before?" she asked.

I shook my head slightly.

"I said I don't think she's dead. I don't think she committed suicide." I felt a burst of hope at these words. "When I went the cliff I saw her jumping off of, I found that, not only is it in La Push, but I could smell werewolf!"

I growled. If a werewolf was the cause of this, I would rip it's throat out. I had a clue of who it might be already, but he's going to wish he was dead when I'm though with him. _No one_ hurts _my_ Bella and walks away alive.

––––––

BPOV

When I awoke, all I could smell was beer and oil. Alarmed by my unfamiliar surroundings, and the fact that I was chained to a pole, I began to panic. I squirmed beneath my restraints, but all it did was bruise me. My eyes darted around the room I was in and, although I didn't recognize it, I figured it was a warehouse of some sort. There were empty beer bottles scattered all over the place, the odd one was cracked or shattered.

I suddenly noticed someone was sobbing. My eyes searched the room until they landed on Jacob's back. He took a swig of a mostly empty beer bottle, and wiped his eyes with his sleeve as he sniffled. I almost felt bad that he was crying. Almost.

"JACOB! LET. ME. GO!" I screamed at him. My voice was hoarse, I noticed, but who knows how long I'd been out for. He whirled around at the sound of my voice.

He looked horrible. His face was stained with tears, and he looked like he hadn't gotten any sleep for days. Again, I almost felt sorry for him, but my anger pushed that emotion aside, and I doubted I would ever feel sorry for Jacob again.

"Bella," He started, tears welling up in his eyes. "I-I'm so sorry. I...I shouldn't have..." He broke out into sobs, falling to his knees simultaneously. I didn't care that he felt bad. He _should_ feel bad. He _kidnapped_ me! Charlie was going to think I was dead!

"Get me out of these chains!! I have to go home!" He looked up at me, tears crawling down his cheeks, with a strange expression on his face. "Let me go, Jacob!"

"I'm sorry!" he sobbed, "I-I can't!"

"Why not?!"

"Charlie would arrest me! I have to be ready in case the pack needs me! I-I'm so sorry, Bella! I shouldn't have done this to you!" He began sobbing again.

Just then, there was a howl in the distance. Jacob's head snapped up, and he got up and ran out.

"JACOB! GET BACK HERE!" I called after him. I had no doubt he had heard me, but I knew he wouldn't listen.

I hung my head. I had nothing to do but sit here and wish, for the trillionth time, that Edward had never left. At the thought of his name, my stomach twisted. But because of the chains, I could not clutch my chest in attempt to stop the hole from ripping me apart. This time, I was helpless to the pain that came. Tears stung at my eyes, and soon trickled down my cheeks and off of my face.

"Edward," I whispered. "Where are you?"

everything went black . . .


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4: JPOV

I ran out of the factory and quickly ducked into the forest so I could phase, worrying about what I could do to get myself out of this mess as I did so. What had I done? How was I supposed to get myself out of _this_ one? I soon felt Quil's presence, and it reminded me I wasn't alone. _Shit._ I tried to keep these thoughts to myself as I ran.

_They're back._ Sam told us. _They're looking for Bella, and they think one of us has her._ I could feel Sam's suspicion towards me in his words.

_Why would one of us have her?_ Quil asked.

_What's up?_ Seth asked as he entered our minds.

_They came back and they're looking for Bella._ Sam answered.

_And, apparently, they think we have her._ Quil added.

_Why would they – ?_ Then I think it clicked in. For Seth, at least. _Oh..._

_What?_ Quil asked, clearly still in the dark. _What'd I miss?_

Everybody remained silent for a moment, and my thoughts involuntarily flickered to Bella.

_Oh._ Quil finally got it. _That's not good._

_You know they're going to kill you if you took her, right?_ Seth asked, but I didn't answer.

_Did you take her?_ Sam asked, though it seemed as if he already knew.

I sighed. That was all they needed to hear.

_Dude! What were you thinking?!_ Quil asked. _He's going to rip you to shreds! Why'd you kidnap her in the first place?_

_Why don't you let her go? She didn't do anything. And she needs to let Charlie know she's okay. He's probably worried sick._

Seth and Quil overloaded me with questions until my head started to spin. I had to slow down to avoid hitting a tree.

_Seth, Quil, enough!_ Sam ordered. _Jacob probably already feels bad enough as it is. Now, Jacob, what are you planning on doing to fix this?_

_That's just it,_ I replied. _I have no clue _what_ to do. I can't let her go – she'll tell Charlie, and he'll arrest me. And I can't be in jail 'cuz I have to be here, with the pack._

_Well you can't just _leave_ her. Edward will find her, or she'll escape. _Sam told me.

_I know, I know. _I shot back. _But I don't know what else to do._

Let_ him find her. Just leave her there until she's found._ Quil suggested.

_Yeah, but he would still be able to smell Jacob. Plus, what if he doesn't find her anytime soon?_ Seth countered.

I came to a meadow then, which was were the rest of the wolves had already gathered. Jared and Paul weren't there, and they weren't in our heads either. I wondered why, but it didn't matter at the moment. I had to figure out what to do with Bella. I began running through possibilities in my head like I had last night, but nothing new or helpful came to mind. Sam, Quil, and Seth helped out too, suggesting things that I might be able to do, but Quil and Seth were the most enthusiastic. Sam thought that it was my mess, so _I_ should have to clean it up.

Finally, hours after Sam and Seth had left – Seth because of his parents, and Sam because he'd gotten bored and didn't really care what happened – Quil and I came up with an idea.

––––––

EPOV

I had fully snapped out of the numbing state I had been in – I was one hundred percent sure that Bella was alive now. Alice had a vision of Bella in some sort of manufacturing facility. We had searched all of Forks for the building, but found nothing. For a while, Bella had disappeared from Alice's visions. But after about two hours, Bella returned to Alice's visions, for which I was grateful.

We finally decided to sneak into La Push, staying as far away from the residents as possible, not that I cared if we were discovered. Soon after, Bella disappeared from Alice's visions again, and I became very worried.

We searched around until I came upon Bella's all too delicious scent. It smelled a little off, but I filed that thought away for contemplation later. I _had_ to get to my poor, sweet, Bella.

"I found her!" I whispered to Alice, who was searching a mile away. She quickly rushed to my side, and sniffed the air.

"She smells a little...different." She commented.

"I noticed. But that's not important at the moment. We have to get to her!"

I began running towards the source of the scent, and smelled the horrible stench of werewolf mixed with her wonderful scent, and my throat released an involuntary growl.

Finally, though it was merely a minute later, we reached the building. Now, I noticed, her scent was really off – not because of the werewolf stench, either – and a little too strong. This made me uneasy, and I rushed inside, and Alice followed.

My jaw dropped in horror at what I saw.

There was a pool of blood on the floor. _Bella's_ blood


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5: BPOV

I awoke the next day confused. The night before – at least, I _think_ it was last night – I had fallen asleep in the warehouse, while Jacob was out with the pack, I'd assumed. But now, I was lying on a slightly uncomfortable bed. The mattress was lumpy, and the sheets were stained, but it was better, and a lot more comfortable, than sitting on the ground, tied to a pole, and trying to fall asleep.

I wondered what had happened. Had I been moved? Did someone _else_ kidnap me from Jacob? As much as I hated Jacob at the moment for what he did, I wasn't too keen on the idea of being taken from him by a complete stranger.

I thought about calling Charlie or someone else for help, but when I searched my pockets, they were empty. Although I had no clue of where I was, I was very glad I wasn't tied up. Maybe I might even be able to escape from . . . wherever I was.

I got up off of the old bed and opened the door to the small room. The door led to a hallway. Everything was white here, I noticed. Was this a hospital? I doubted it. It didn't seem big enough for that. And there were locks on all the doors. Deadbolts, to be exact. What kind of hospital would have deadbolts on all the doors? I had been to many, but never had there been locks on the doors, nor had any of them been this small.

I wandered around the strange building, trying to find a way out. I passed a couple elevators, which told me there were three levels, but they were all broken down. As far as I could tell, this building was completely abandoned, and had been for some time. There was dust everywhere, and there were no files or computers at any of the desks or in any of the offices. There were no signs, no name tags on the office doors, none of those signs that say EXIT in big, red, illuminated letters. I had no clue of where to go.

None of the lights in any of the rooms worked, if there were even lights installed, and every room I had been in either had bars on the windows, or no windows at all. It was almost like a prison. A gloomy, dark prison. I wondered if there even _was_ any way out.

After about an hour more of searching, I turned down a hallway to see a staircase at the end. I sighed in relief. I quickly ran down the stairway and was even more relieved to see an exit. _Finally!_ I was beginning to grow wary of this place.

I rushed up to the door in hopes of freedom, but all those hopes were shattered when I jerked on the handle and it didn't budge. Overcome with disappointment, I pulled and pulled, as if repeatedly yanking on it would make it magically open. The letdown was like a lead weight on my shoulders. Once I ran out of patience and energy, I collapsed on the floor in tears. I was so frustrated. I had no clue of where I was, or how to get out, and I didn't know how I got here in the first place.

Hours later, the tears eventually stopped and I forced myself to get up and find something to eat. I was past finding a way out – I'd searched the building for hours, and only had disappointment to show for my troubles.

I moved sluggishly down the halls, searching but covering little ground. Finally, I came upon a kitchen. There was still a fridge and one of those old-fashioned stoves, though I doubted either worked. I opened the door to the fridge, and wasn't surprised to find it empty. I searched though the cupboards and found a couple dishes, a pot, and some canned food. Soon after, I discovered a can opener in a drawer, along with a few utensils and a matchbox. Curious, I went to the stove and turned the knob. To my surprise, gas came out of the stove top. That made me suspicious, but I was too tired and too hungry to care. I opened a random can, not caring about what was inside, and plopped the contents into the pot. I lit a match and brought it to the gas, igniting it. I placed the pot on the stove and sat on the island in the middle of the kitchen. Once I decided it was done, I removed the pot from the stove and grabbed a fork before walking out. I figured I might as well look around a little more while I ate. But I only got down the hall a little before I got tired, so I sat down on the floor and leaned against the wall.

The food had been too hot, and had burned my tongue and throat, so I no longer tasted whatever I was eating. I was deep in thought, so I wasn't paying attention to my surroundings, just kept eating. It took a while before I noticed that the pot was empty, and even longer for me to decide to do something. But, finally, I got up, and started for the kitchen, staring down the whole time.

After trudging down the hallway for a few seconds, I realized I was warm. More than warm, I was hot, and getting hotter. Like I was burning. At this realization, my head snapped up. It took half a second for me to understand what I was seeing. Fire. Big, hot, raging fire.

I quickly turned and ran down the hall, but soon realized it was just a dead end, and the only way out was the locked door on the other side of the fire.

I was trapped.

And all I could do was scream.

––––––

?POV

All it took was one of Bella's cries to send me bolting towards her.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6: EPOV

I had been searching in a panic for hours. At first I was convinced she was dead, but Alice pointed out that there wasn't enough blood lost to cause any major problems. This calmed me down a little, but I was still very furious and extremely worried about my Bella.

I was running through one of many La Push forests, which was alongside a road. Cars passed occasionally, but they all went the opposite way to which I was running. No car was fast enough to win a race against me, even at top speed. A fire truck was headed down the road, and soon passed by me, sirens on, and horn honking at the cars it passed. The truck that passed was insignificant until I heard their radio.

"What's up?" One of the firemen asked.

"_There's a fire at the old asylum. Apparently Swan's kid is trapped inside."_

I whirled around and raced at top speed in the opposite direction. I didn't even need to tell Alice; she was on my tail in a second. She soon fell behind, though, as I was running faster than any other vampire could.

An eternity later, though it was mere minutes, I reached the edge of the forest, and I could see the smoke billowing out from the building through the trees. I ran out of the forest at human speed towards the gathering fire trucks and ambulances, listening to thoughts and conversations about Bella, while searching for her as well. They were still trying to get into the building, as the door had been bolted shut, so Bella was still trapped inside. I heard no screaming from inside the building, just a faint heartbeat and shallow, weak breaths. I began panicking, and I raced to the other side of the building, barely at human speed. When I got as close to Bella as I could, I found the nearest window to her, and broke it. I bent the bars on the window so I could get in, and climbed through. I crushed the lock on the door to the room and walked out into the hallway, moving at vampire speed. I had to be careful, I reminded myself, I wasn't fireproof. Although the smoke didn't affect my vision, it's heat was making me slightly nervous. I wouldn't be able to stay in here for very long if I wanted to continue living.

I soon found Bella lying unconscious on the floor, mere inches from the flames. I carefully picked her up, holding her close to me and praying she wasn't injured. I found my way out quickly, and ran around to the front of the building, where everyone was still seeking entrance to the burning building. I gently placed her on an awaiting stretcher as people began gathering around it. One of those people being Chief Swan.

"You!" He exclaimed when he saw me standing beside his daughter. "Leave. Now. I don't want you anywhere near her."

I might have argued with him, had his thoughts not been so sure, so _rejective_ of me. But I was determined to stay, so I didn't move. I didn't even turn to look at him.

"I told you to leave! I won't have you hurting my Bella anymore."

The paramedics were working on Bella now, trying to get her breathing back to normal, and checking to make sure she wasn't injured in any major way.

I turned to face Charlie, my face hard and mature. "I can assure you," I pronounced each word clearly, though my voice was firm. "She won't be hurt again, not as long as I'm here. Not as long as I can stop it."

"How am I supposed to believe you?" He tried to sound tough, but his thoughts showed how vulnerable he was. "You almost _killed_ her by leaving. How am I supposed to know you won't do it again?" He was unwavering now, in his thoughts, too; he didn't want me anywhere near Bella. I would have to convince him otherwise.

"That was a mistake. One that I would gladly die to undo. I didn't mean for it to turn out like this."

Charlie's face softened. I had caught him off guard. He opened his mouth slightly to say something, but then closed it.

We both whipped around when Bella groaned. Her eyes parted slightly and soon, she opened them fully. Her cheeks turned red at the attention she was receiving, and I wondered how I had stayed away for so long without giving in and coming back. Charlie sighed, seeing she was awake, and flew to her side, pushing me aside in the process. I stood behind him, my eyes on Bella the whole time. Bella seemed happy to see her father, but her eyes soon drifted to me, and she gasped.

"Edward."

She looked depressed as she turned away from me, and Charlie jumped on the opportunity at once.

"Do you want me to make him leave, Bells?"

"No!" She cried out promptly, then dropped her head. I was relieved she wasn't angry with me. At least she didn't _seem_ mad; Bella always seems to surprise me though.

I wanted to ask her what was wrong, but I was afraid she would say she was upset about me. I couldn't bear to be the one to cause Bella misery.

"What's wrong, then?" Charlie asked for me.

"Nothing." She mumbled, turning away once more. The tone of her voice was pure torture for me. As much as I wanted to fly to her side instantly, I stood still. I knew Charlie still didn't like me here, so I stayed as far away as I could possibly handle.

She glanced up at me, her eyes pleading. "Edward?" I guessed she wanted to talk to me.

I looked to Charlie as if for permission. His face looked regretful, but he nodded slightly and went off to talk to a paramedic. I hurried toward her.

"I'm sorry, Bella, so sorry. Can you ever forgive me for leaving?"

"What? You...you're staying?"

"Of course!" I didn't know how she could think that I would be able to leave again. Maybe I had been a bit too persuasive . . .

"I...I thought you didn't want me...?" It sounded like a question.

"Oh, Bella! I do want you! I always have, and always will, for as long as I roam this earth."

"But you said –"

"I was lying, love. I'll always love you."

She smiled at me, and I smiled back. "I love you too." she told me.

I stroked her cheek with the back of my hand, and she closed her eyes and leaned into it. I dropped my hand, and picked up hers, holding them securely. I was about to say something when I noticed a long gash on her arm. Alarmed, I lifted her arm and pulled her sleeve back to reveal the injury.

"Bella," I gasped, looking up at her face, which was focused on the discoloured cut in confusion. Had she not noticed it? "What happened?"

"I...I don't know. I don't remember that."

I took a deep breath, trying to remain calm. "It was Jacob Black, wasn't it?"

Her jaw clenched. That was all the answer I needed.

"I'm going to rip his body to shreds." I promised myself aloud, and closed my eyes and pinched the bridge of my nose.

"Edward, he's a . . . he's a werewolf." she whispered to me.

"I know."

"The whole pack will be on his side. You can't just attack him! They'll kill you!"

"I don't care."

"Edward, I will not lose you again! You can't do this!" She began to cry.

Charlie noticed her distress in her voice, and saw her tears, and marched right over. His anger was plain on his face, and I knew from his thoughts he would make me leave, no matter what Bella or I said. I had no choice but to go.

––––––

BPOV

I lay in my bed and waited for sleep to take me. After Charlie had forced Edward to leave, he brought me home, made me dinner, and sent me to bed early. I couldn't complain – I was worn out.

Suddenly, there was a knock at my window. I leaped out of bed and was at the window in a second, opening it to let Edward in. I hadn't been expecting him, so I kept it closed. He normally would have laughed and asked if I was trying to lock him out, but he wasn't in the mood for it. I stood there watching him for a moment as he lay down on my bed and beaconed me to join him. I did so at once, and he wrapped his stone arms around me. I sighed in content, resting my head on his cold chest. After about five minutes, I couldn't bear not knowing the answer to the question burning in my head.

"Jacob?" I asked nervously. I knew he would understand immediately.

He took an unnecessary breath. "Don't worry," he told me, squeezing me tight. "He's gone."


End file.
